Controlling Secrets
by mini-storyteller
Summary: When a secret can destroy and harm others, what happens when it is let go. What happens when the secret is known. Travis Stoll accidentally let one secret go that can never be forgotten. Because nobody knows the real Travis. I do not own PJO. Possible OOC. Traitie.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own no part of this story that is from Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series

Some things aren't supposed to be said aloud. They are secrets. Only the owner knows of it. Everybody has at least one secret that they don't want to get out. Some people even have two. Or three. Or maybe more.

Secrets vary in the types of fear it controls in you. It has a reason that it is impossible for you to let others know. This terror makes the secret so scary is what controls you.

One type is the fear of embarrassment. This fear exists because of pride and fear of humiliation. It exists because of the fear of mocking. This fear is most common in the secrets.

The second type is the fear of appearing weak. Certain secrets may reveal a weakness that you've been trying to hide. It can show a weakness that can become your downfall. This weakness may allow others to control you if they found out. To let known a weakness is to admit defeat. This fear is useless in the presence of close friends and family, but to others it can be the worst.

Another is the fear of the truth. To say what the secret was about makes it more real than it previously was. If the secret was not said aloud, the owner might not have to face what happened. The event might just disappear with enough secrecy. Like it never happened.

The fear that the secret contains makes it able to have control. Complete control. Control over actions. Control over thoughts and beliefs. And control over everything about you.

Also, there are some secrets that possess all four traits. These secrets are the ones that control you. These secrets are alive. These secrets are impossible to ignore. These secrets are a part of your life. They are a part of your _whole_ life.

One of these deadly secrets was accidentally released by Travis Stoll. And it did change the world. Oh yes it did.

Or, at least it changed Camp Half-Blood. For the better or worse is difficult to tell.


	2. Chapter 2

While sitting in her cabin, Katie heard people begin to shout, "Fight! Fight!"

She brushed her brown hair out her eyes as she put her gardening book down. She was reading about the best conditions to plant a willow tree in because she had accidentally almost killed her last one.

"This better be important." Katie muttered to herself as she opened the door leading to outside her cabin.

The sight in front her was the most shocking thing she ever expected to see in Camp Half-Blood. There was almost every single person in Camp gathered up around the arena. They were all chanting except for a select few who were as confused as she was. The campers cheering were mostly all screaming and had creepy smiles on their faces. The ones on the outside were trying to get to the center and see what the big commotion was about. Katie saw a few Hermes kids collecting bets for who would win.

Katie slowly stepped down from her doorstep, closing her red wood door to her cabin. She was in such shock Katie didn't give it enough force so it swung open again, but she did nothing to stop it.

Katie then proceeded to begin to push through the crowd. As she was getting closer to the middle, she was roughly shoved by a camper and fell on the ground. She looked up and realized that the person had ever-so-kindly pushed her to the front.

What she sees shocked her to no end, there was Mark Phillips in front of Conner Stoll who was on his knees. Conner has a split lip and a bruising cheek, but nobody seemed like they were trying to help him.

Katie looked around the arena and noticed that they people surrounding her has either menacing smiles on their faces or looks of fear. The Aphrodite girls were too scared to even look Conner's way.

Mark has blood on his fist that he was lifting to give Conner another punch. Katie could only assume the blood was from the split lip or the bloody mouth that now revealed itself when Conner let loose a cough.

As Mark was swinging to give another punch, Katie noticed Travis on the other side of the arena. He was too far away to make out his face but he immediately jumped over the wall and stormed over to Mark.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the big brother." Mark sneered at Travis stopping the punch mid-hit. Katie saw the slight look of relief on Conner's face when Mark lowered his fist. By now the chanting had stopped and everyone could hear Mark.

Travis didn't even respond as he reached Mark. Without a second though, Travis gave Mark a perfectly executed upper-cut punch. Mark staggered back, it was mostly from surprise but also a little from the punch. It looked like Travis was stronger than he let on.

Travis didn't say a word as he strolled over to Mark confidently and stood in front of him. Mark bends over from pain. He was grasping his chin like it was broken, which it likely was. Travis didn't move as Mark gathered himself and stood up.

I had never seen such a look on Travis' face. This day was full as surprising things because Travis had no emotion on his face. It was completely unreadable.

"You can get as mad at me as you want and go on a rampage all over camp, but the moment you touch Conner it becomes a whole nother ball-game." Travis says in scarily quiet voice that had no doubt in what he was going to do. Katie didn't know what he's going to do, but she's still scared.

Travis then reaches up, braces one hand against Mark's back like he's going to give him a hug. Then places the other on his forehead and pushed backed against his head in a forceful motion. A crack sounded and Mark's head was thrown back. He then collapsed on the dirt with Travis standing over him.

Shock rippled through the crowd as Travis walked over to Conner, lifted him up bridle style, and walked out of the arena leaving Mark lying there.

Before he leaves, Travis says in the same quiet voice, "Don't worry. He isn't dead."


	3. Chapter 3

As Travis walked away I heard the clopping hooves coming up behind me.

"Travis Stoll! Where are you going and what happened here?" I heard Chiron's booming voice. I turned around to find him right behind me, but he didn't even acknowledge me. He was glaring in Travis' direction.

But Travis didn't stop walking. No, no, no. In fact, he sped up. He was walking straight for the Hermes' cabin. I watched as he walked straight to the porch. He opened the door and closed it behind him without even a backwards glance. I stared at him.

How could he do that? He knocked a guy unconscious, possibly dead, and he walks away like it's an everyday thing.

Wait. What if it was? No. Travis lived in….. wait? Where did he live before he came here?

That's when I realized it. I didn't know anything. Nothing about Travis' life. This could be an everyday thing in Travis' life. He never talked about it and I never asked. What a horrible friend! All I ever did was talk about my own problems at home without even considering what his life was like.

My mind started running 100 miles per hour. I pictured Travis living in some third-world country. Maybe he lived in another continent. Maybe Travis was famous but he left that for this camp. Or maybe he lived in a poor community. Oh! What if Travis is some type of drug dealer. Maybe he is a part of gang.

Nah.

I can't picture him doing that. Or maybe that's the point. Maybe he was such a great liar that no one would ever know.

I was taken out of my thoughts by Chrion's voice yelling, "Take him to the infirmary!"

He must be talking to the Apollo kids for they came rushing into the arena while many others were still in a state of shock. I looked around and there was not a sound besides the Apollo children doing their work. People had looks of shock on their faces, the same one I probably had on my face.

In the arena, Will was frantically looking over Mark for any sign of life. He was checking his pulse and inserting I.V.s into his arm. I saw the medicine injected into his arm. Then, suddenly, Mark gasped and surprised us all. He sprang up into a sitting position and looked around frantically.

Will was so surprised he stumbled back.

"What happened?" Mark said. When no one answered him he yelled it again, "What happened!"

It was more of an exclamation than a question. Everybody looked over to where Travis walked away. _Way to be secretive. Really great. Round of applause for your ability to lie and NOT getting my best friend in trouble._ I thought.

And yes I said "best friend." Of course I probably can't say that now. If I call him my "best friend", that implies that I know something about his personal life. I began to flashback to all the conversations we had ever had.

They all seemed to have the same topic. Me. I rarely ask questions about him. Whenever we talk its always me, myself, and I. He seemed so interested in me, I never give it a second thought to ask him a question. Hades, I don't even know his birthday! And I consider myself his best friend. That's stupid.

Also, you're probably _how_ Travis and I became friends. Well it was pretty simple really. It was after dinner on the beach.

_Flashback_

_I was sitting on the beach. It was right after Chiron had called me into his office after dinner. My dad was on the phone and wanted to talk to me. I, being the silly person I am, thought that it was for something good. Of course it wasn't and now I'm sitting on the beach bawling my eyes out._

_My father had called me to tell me that he was moving. To Italy. He said that he was leaving with his new wife. Apparently she got a job there and he was going too. He made it perfectly clear that he wasn't changing his mind. No matter how much I begged. When I told him that I wasn't going, he just said, "okay" like he couldn't care less about what I was doing. At that point I just hung up. I couldn't take it anymore. As I stormed out of the Big House I could tell that Chiron wanted to ask what was wrong, but was smart enough not to._

_I felt someone walk up behind me and crouch down. I felt a hand on back, "Katie-Kat. Are you alright?"_

_I recognized the voice. It was Travis. Travis Stoll. The guy that made my life a living Hades. I suddenly began feeling self-concious. I knew that I wasn't one of the pretty criers. I didn't only have a few tears sliding down my face. My hair was a mess. _

_Wait. Why do I care about that? This is Travis? Why would I care about what I looked like in front of _Travis_?_

_I realized that my mental conversation had lasted at least 30 seconds and Travis was still looking at me, waiting for an answer. Without thinking I answered truthfully, "No."_

_With that, I broke into another round of tears. Travis just sat there next to me the whole time. He didn't say anything, he just held me. _

_And that is all I really needed. I just wanted someone to be there for me, because right now I feel so alone. I cried and cried. I don't know why I chose Travis to tell the truth. There were so many other people I could have talked to, but I chose him. And he was exactly what I needed. I didn't need someone fretting over how I feel and asking me questions. All I wanted was a silent companion._

_At last, the tears stopped coming. It was as if I had run out. I had nothing left. I felt so empty. So fragile. I couldn't feel anything right now. Except for pain. A lot of pain._

"_I'm sorry." I said at last._

"_For what?" Travis smirked, "Not complementing me on how great I am right when you saw me? Its okay. I forgive you."_

_I let a little smile grace my lips, but both Travis and I knew that it wasn't a real one._

"_But seriously, you don't need to apologize. I know that sometimes it is just to much to hold in. I don't know what you're dealing with right now and if you don't want to tell me then you don't have to. It's none of my business. But I hope that if you ever feel like you need a friend. You will choose me." Travis looked so sincere that I believed him. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. At first he stiffened, like he wasn't used to physical contact, but then relaxed and hugged me back._

_Eventually I finally made it back to my cabin and Travis went back to his. _

_Now I knew that I had a new friend. No. I take that back. I had _a friend_._


	4. Chapter 4

Travis, meanwhile, was fretting over his brother whom was lying down on the bottom bunk in the Hermes cabin. The first thing Travis does is run back towards to the door at the front of the cabin.

There is a secret about the Hermes cabin that nobody knew about besides him. Not even the other Hermes' children know about it because Travis has kept it well hidden. Above the door, there is a loose panel that can be moved pretty easily if you really tried. Well you need a crowbar. And strong fingers. And you cannot be weak, because if you are then you won't be able to carry the piece of wood once it is out of its place. So maybe you need a little bit more than just effort. But just a little.

The panel opened up to show the little area between the inside wall of the Hermes cabin and the outside wall. It was only about six inches thick but it was enough. This is where Travis kept his most important belongings. This is where he kept his cell phone. Yes, he knows that he isn't supposed to because if he has a cell phone "then monsters will be able to find you more easily and it endangers your safety, yada, yada, yada…". But isn't that the point of Camp Half-Blood? To keep the monsters out? And since Conner doesn't ever leave camp, why should Travis worry?

Travis also kept a lot of his belongings that he used a lot before he got to camp. He just couldn't let them go. Some were just memorabilia and some he might need in the near future. So Travis pulled up a chair and stepped up. He reached into the little area and felt around for the first aid kit he always kept on hand.

Travis walked back over to Conner who was starting to wake up. Conner tried to roll over to see what Travis was doing but then felt the pain and stopped.

"Shhhh," Travis whispered, "just stay still."

"I didn't need your help." Conner croaked out to his brother.

"You always need my help." Travis smirked as he took out a piece of gauze and applied it to Conner's cheek.

"I was taking care of it on my own. I had them right where I wanted them."

"Where?" Travis said while chuckling. There was no way that Conner was going to win in that fight and they both knew it so Travis couldn't wait to hear what his brother's "plan" was.

It was silent for a few seconds. "Right where you could see them." Conner whispered, "I knew that if I held out long enough you would come." Conner looked up at Travis with the expression that Travis had seen a thousand times before. The face of little boy just wanting everything to stop and turn around for the better. The face that reminded Travis that Conner was still just a kid. A kid who had seen too much for his life. "You always do." Was the last thing Conner said before closing his eyes one last time.

Travis just stayed silent and tried his best to fix up Conner's wounds. Both of them knew that Conner was better at it.

_Probably because he has had more practice_, Travis thought bitterly.

Travis was taken out of his thought by a knock on the door. Travis jumped slightly at the sound since he had been so enveloped in his thoughts.

"Travis." One thing you need to know about Chiron is that he didn't really yell. No, no. Travis would be lucky if he yelled. Instead he used this deadly calm voice. A voice that let Travis know just how much trouble he was really in. "What did you do?"

Travis didn't turn around. To acknowledge Chiron would be a sign a weakness. It meant that he was scared of Chiron. And sure he was. He was as scared as Zeus is when Hera has a temper tantrum, but he didn't turn around. Well, he didn't turn around until Chiron said, "I called your mother. She didn't answer so I left a message. I told her to come."

That's when Travis did turn around. He turned around because he _is_ scared. He _is_ frightened out of his mind.


End file.
